Wildlife experts have claimed repeatedly that vampire bats are not interested in human blood. However, a recent incident in Brazil proves that vampire bats do, indeed, seek out human blood. The man who was bit by a vampire bat lived in the northeast region of Brazil. This particular region has had many bat-attacks. Brazilian officials report that forty people have been bitten by vampire bats in the northeast region of Brazil since March of this year.

Traditionally, researchers did not think that vampire bats bit humans, but a group of researchers have recently discovered a species of vampire bat that does prey upon humans. The name of this species of vampire bats is Diphylla ecaudata, and normally their diet consists of bird-blood, but now they have expanded their tastes to humans. These vampire bats can carry and spread the rabies virus, and this is exactly what happened to one man who has recently died as a result of having contracted the virus.

The rabies virus can often infect people who are not aware that they have contracted the virus, and this is because it can sometimes take months before symptoms of the rabies virus appear. The amount of time it takes for the disease to make itself felt can depend on where on the body a victim was bitten. If a person is bitten on the foot by a rabies infected animal, then the virus will not reach the brain as quickly as it would have if a person was bitten on the face. Once the virus is in the nervous system, flu-like symptoms can sometimes be perceived. Around two weeks after the initial symptoms of rabies appear, an infected individual will begin to undergo personality changes. These changes often include aggressive or confused behavior. These personality changes occur as a result of inflammation in the brain. Fortunately, vaccines are available that can prevent this virus from infecting you in the future.

Do you think that there exists more than one species of vampire bat that bites humans?